ACC225

Patina on dark stone. In 1778 this beacon was erected for the Cape Governor, Joachim van Plettenberg, near the east bank of the Seekoei River in the Northern Cape province. It marked the northern turning point of his journey through the Karoo. The beacon bears Van Plettenberg’s coat-of-arms. It was later broken down by San hunter-gatherers resisting Dutch colonial expansion. In 1892 the beacon was located by Henry and George Murray on their farm Quaggasfontein, and donated to the South African Museum in 1905.